Donovan correctly claims he's not done

Donovan McNabb is speaking again. And once again the world is listening -- and reacting.

The former Eagles quarterback made a 30-second appearance on The Real Robinson Report and vowed that he's not finished, as his performance with the Washington Redskins last seasons would suggest to some.

"For my Facetime, 2011 is different than 2010," McNabb said. "For those who want to sit back and dwell on what happened last year, so be it. But 2011's going to be a special season, a season in which I feel that I've prepared myself well, not just conditioning and strength-wise, but most importantly getting back to the fundamentals. And I look to display that in the 2011 season. And for those who feel like it can't be possible, I'll prove you wrong."

Furthermore, the quarterback is hosting a Chicago homecoming party tomorrow that is billed as a "vanilla soul" affair in which "upscale white attire is the vibe." Check out the details here.

Can't wait to hear Bernard Hopkins' reaction to that one.

Finally, McNabb joined some of his former teammates today at the field in Marlton, N.J., where the Eagles have been holding informal workouts in lieu of the real thing, which has been prevented by a lockout that tomorrow will reach its 100th day.

In the meantime, feel free to peruse the various reactions to his latest statements so far:

My own: I believe he's far from done. No quarterback in the NFL could have succeeded last year with the Redskins, who had assembled the worst offensive personnel in the league, by far. No line, no running game, mostly below average receivers -- and double tyrants in head coach Mike Shanahan and offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan, Mike's son.

Put it this way: No coach has ever won a Super Bowl with two teams. Mike Shanahan won't be the first. He's good for another two years in Washington, tops, before owner Dan Snyder tries to talk Joe Gibbs out of retirement No. 2.

Oh, and one more thing: All the criticisms we ever hear are of McNabb missing on easy passes. These all come from people who watch every pass he throws and then only watch the highlights of others on ESPN. Think about that for a second. McNabb hasn't missed on any more passes than anyone else -- and missing low is a whole lot better than missing high, by the way. He left Philadelphia with the lowest interception percentage in NFL history.

Remembering my pal, Larry O'Rourke

My goodbye to former Morning Call Eagles beat writer Larry O'Rourke, who died yesterday at age 46 after a long and inspirational battle with ALS:

Christmas Eve in New Orleans, 2007. I'll never forget the horror.

What should have been one of the best of times turned into one of the worst when my rival but good friend on the Eagles beat, Larry O'Rourke, finally confessed to me that he thought he had ALS, or Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. This was well past midnight, following an Eagles win over the Saints on Dec. 23 and the obligatory trip down Bourbon Street immediately afterward.

Although Larry liked to bend the elbow as much as or more than the next guy, he was never a sloppy drinker. You couldn't even really tell when he had too many. Now, as we're walking back to our hotels, he's slurring his speech, five minutes after talking normally, and walking with a much more pronounced limp -- the result, he thought, of a nerve injury suffered during a fall on the golf course -- than the one he had for most of the football season.

"All those hurricanes finally got to you," I said, busting his stones. "You need three or four coffees in you now."

"No," he replied, clutching my arm for support, changing the tone of the banter with one frighteningly sober glance. "Coffee isn't what I need."

What Larry needed was a cure for ALS, a disease he wasn't yet sure he had, but suddenly was now admitting he thought to be the cause of his problems. It was a fear he had kept secret for more than a year, hoping against hope that it was something else -- MS, Lyme Disease, anything but the unthinkable, uncurable and basically untreatable death sentence that ALS continues to be.

Larry, who covered the Eagles for The Morning Call from 2001 through 2008, eventually learned of his sentence the following spring and succumbed at his home in the Poconos yesterday. In between, he never once complained about his plight.

Instead, he embraced it, fought it, even became an inspirational speaker to others afflicted with it.

We cried together that night in New Orleans. I cry alone today in memory of a close friend who was immensely popular with seemingly everyone he ever met.

Everybody loved Larry, a man born to tell stories, and nobody disliked him. I mean nobody.

But as good as he was with the written word, he was so much better in person, so entertaining 100 percent of the time. He had the biggest heart and brightest spirit of anyone I knew.

I was one of hundreds who wanted to be around him as much as possible, and most often was after getting on the Eagles beat with The Easton Express-Times in 2004. We hung out on the road trips, in the offseason, took trips to Myrtle Beach to play golf.

So many laughs. So many stories.

One more: Two years before the New Orleans trip, we were stuck in Phoenix for Christmas, following an Eagles-Cardinals game the day before. After spending half the day searching for better options, we finally had to settle for dinner at Denny's.

Denny's for Christmas. Should have been an awful time. But it was a great time, a fun time, one I'd gladly repeat anytime if Larry were to return to this Earth for just one day.

Finally, when it became impossible for him to work anymore, I was offered the bittersweet opportunity to replace him here at The Morning Call less than two years ago. With his blessing, I accepted.

Larry soldiered on, his body deteriorating, his mind as sharp as ever. He humorously pointed out how he reluctantly accepted Facebook into his life as a way to communicate because he had so much trouble speaking and could no longer hold a phone to his ear anyway. (A Bluetooth headset, he stubbornly maintained, would never be an option.)

In the past month, Larry had basically lost all ability to communicate. For anyone who knew him, that was a fate worse than death.

So his parents, Larry and Joyce, did the right thing, chose the lesser of two evils and disconnected his tracheal tube. He was gone in two minutes.

Gone, but never forgotten.

Goodbye, young friend. Life down here will never be the same without you.

They will be aggressive in pursuit of free agents -- some of them their own -- and will be immediately looking to trade quarterback Kevin Kolb.

Silver also points out how close coach Andy Reid and the powers that be believe the Eagles to be to another Super Bowl run after being edged by champion Green Bay in the playoffs last January. Again, it's spot on.

So Eagles fans, stay alert, keep your smart phones charged and your radios and TVs on 24-7 once the lockout is over. Because literally within minutes of that happening, we'll start hearing about potentially exciting roster moves, which could include the pursuit of Washington Redskins defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth, Oakland Raiders cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha and ex-con wide receiver Plaxico Burress.

Silver describes general manager Howie Roseman as a man with his finger on the trigger of a lot of potential deals.

What seems certain is that there will be a furious pursuit of free agents and trades league-wide, and that the Eagles will be especially busy.

If you blink, you're guaranteed to miss at least some of the action.

Although there were no new revelations today -- Roseman didn't tell Silver anything different than he told us beat writers more than a month ago -- you get the sense that his enthusiasm to get cracking is genuine and his words are sincere.

Former Eagles to evaluate high school players

Coming to the Philadelphia area this weekend:a scouting combine for high school students.

Here's the skinny: The Semper Fidelis All-American Bowl and national football combine will be coming to Philadelphia to evaluate and choose players for the 2012 events. A corresponding media event and skills camp will take place at Plymouth Whitemarsh High School in Plymouth Meeting, Montgomery County.

Media will have an opportunity to see local players put to the test by the United States Marine Corps and former Eagles players and coaches. Standout players may get an invitation to play in the nationally televised bowl or Proving Ground football combine.

Former Eagles Fred Barnett and Byron Evans will be among those in attendance for the event, which will be held on June 11 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.